Dumping-car.



C. 0. FLOWERS.

DUMPING CAR.

APPLICATION HLED JULY. 1911.

1 ,27 1,303. Patented July 2, 1918.

INVENTOR- ms NDRRIS PEYERS Pm: mumm wAsnmammb. c.

.- cLnnnivono. rLowEns, or FLIN MIoHIG n.

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To all whom-it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE O. FLOWERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Flint, in the county of Genesee and State of.

Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dumping .cars, and more especially to those provided with a hopper bottom; and'the object of the same is to produce an improved tram car for useon overhead tracks in carrying coal, ore, and the likethe same intended to coact with a peculiar tripper mechanism located at the point where dumping is .to occur automatically and capable of beingset at will to dump the car or not as desired.

Details of a he invention will had to the accompanying drawings where- 1n: 7 p I m F gure 1 is a slde elevatlonof thls entire structure showing the gate closed in full lines and asicontacting with the tripper to open it, and illustrating the gate in dotted lines as opened. v

- Fig. 2 is an end View, with the track or tracks partly insection. I

The train or freight car is. designated broadly by the reference letter C. It has wheels W traveling on a pair of elevated rails E constituting an overhead track which we will assume leads from the. point of loading to the point where the dumping. is

to occur. Overlying theselrails areguard rails G at a point about where dumping is to occur, and the wheels W pass under these so as to holdthem reliably on the rails E in a manner which is clearly understood. The motive-power for the caris here shown as ropes or cables R, but this is not essential. The shape of the body of the car is also immaterial excepting for the details hereinafter described.

Coming now to the present invention, the bottom of the car is formed in the shape of a. hopper, including downwardly converging walls 1 leading to a mouth or chute 2 beneath the midlength of the car-body, so that the coal, ore, or other granular material therein will rest normally on the walls of the hopper and within the chute, and will run out the latter when it is opened at its lower end. Normally it is closed by a gate herein designated by the numeral 3 and slightly. curved as shown. The curve is part of a circle be found in. the following specification, reference being struck around pivot points 4 on opposite; SldBS: of the hopper and from thesepoints bars 5: depend and are inturned at their lower ends into feet 6 underlying and sup porting the gate. Said bars 5i-form pivotal supports or hangers for the gate, and the latter stands normally beneath the lower eX- tremityi of the chute and closes it as illustrated' in full lines in Fig. 1. When the gate is swun the hangers restagainststops 7, the gate be ing held in closed position against accidental movement by the weight of the load within the chute 2. Therails. E will/be spaced so that the hopper and chute travel between them as will be clearly understood.

Letus assume for sakeoftillustratlon I each of.-the cars described above isiloaded within or. atthemouth of a mine, with coal; is drawn thence by the'propellingi means R1 along a considerable i stretch of trackland finally. onto elevatedfrails E, led over a coal pile or dump, or perhaps over a spur or sid- I aside on its hangers as indicatedin dottec lines in this view, the mouth of'the" chute is open, but normally it is closed and that Specification of Letters ram. t te lg, 191g Application filed il'uly 17, 1917. 'Serial 'No. 181,118; 7 I I ing of the railway'onto which freightcars i are run and which are to be loadedbydumping into themthe contents oft-hese overhead tram carsG. It will be clear ofcourse'that. all of the dumping must not occur atone point. If the coalmis to be placed in a'pile. or a bin-,or loaded .into'several carstof a 1 coal. train, the dumpingimust occur at se-Y:

head stretcliof rails"E.- Therefore itis my lected points along. the lengtlrof 'thefover-i intention to provide means for. tripping or. r

opening the gate 30f each car wherever the load withinlsaid car is needed,abut.I have).

shown only one tripping mechanism in Fig.1.

roller 10 adapted, in the movement of the car in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, to strike a tripper bar 11 when the latter stands in its path, and by the continued movement of the car C to be raised to the position shown in dotted lines and thereby to open the gate and dump the load. Said tripper is hinged as at 12 at its upper end to a track or runner 13, standing horizontal and extending along the line of movement of the car, and this runner is disposed at such elevation that when the gate swings to the open position, the rollers 10 may travel upon it. The lower end of the tripper bar 11 rests upon a support 14 which is at I Each hanger 5 carries at its outer side a e the car C. As soon as its gate is opened its.

a lower level than the runner 13, and accordingly thetripper stands oblique and in the direct path of the rollers 10 as the car advances. In such advance, the rollers therefore strike the tripper bars and the hangers are swung upward and the gate swung open in a inannerwhich will be clear, and after the gate has beenopened and the carhas proceeded along its course, the rollers travel on the runners .13 so that the gate is held open forsome little time. Therefore it is not necessary to check the movement of excepting that they are interrupted at intervals by hinged tripper bars 11 wherever it is expected that'it may be desirable to dump a car. When not in use these tripper bars may be raised and held closed by but- .tons, locks,.or suitable means not necessary to illustrate; but when any tripper bar is to be used" as a trip, it is dropped to the position illustrated inFig- 1. This View may thereforev be said to show only one unit or one dumping point within a considerable stretchof the complete system. The trippersandrunners will of course be spaced so that there is a clear passage between them for the pendant chute 2 as the car moves forward. I; have spoken of the progress of this car as the dumping occurs, but it'will be possible if desired to checkits progress and let it remain idle'while' the load runs out the chute. Probably this course would be followed ifthe train car were depositing a load into a railway car beneath. Without furtherillustration andxdescriptionit is clear that devices might be provided for manipu lating any pair of trippers from a remote Copies of this patent may be tbtained for point, so that a proper operative could control the action of all those along the system,

andtherefor'e could dump any tram car at the point desired. 1 do not wish to be limited to structural details, nor as to sizes, shapes and materials of parts. What is'claimed as new is: Y

1. The; combination with overhead spaced rails, a car traveling thereon and having a hopper bottom with a chute at its lowest point, a curved gate normally closing the mouth of said chute, hanger bars pivoted to the sides of said hopper at their upper ends, and feet at their lower ends carrying the gate; of laterally projecting stop elements on said hangers near their lower ends, spaced rails beneath said elevated rails at the points where dumping is to occur and constituting runners lying in a plane above the normal position of said elements, tripper bars hinged at their forward ends to said runners, and supports beneath said plane for hold ing the tripper bars inclined and in position to be struck by said elements, for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination with overhead spaced rails, aear traveling thereon and having a hopper bottom with a chute at its lowest point, a curved gate normally closing the mouth of said chute, and hanger bars pivoted to the sides of said hopper at their upper ends and connected at their lower ends with the ends of said gate; of rollers on the outer side of said hanger bars near their lower ends, a pair of spaced tripper bars beneath said overhead rails where dumping is to occur, hinges supporting their forward ends in the direction of movement of said car and at a level above the normal position of said rollers, and'a stop supporting their other ends at a level below said normal position whereby when the'tripper bars. are thus set oblique the rollers strike them and open the gate,.as' described.

In testimony whereo'fI affix my signature.

CLARENCE o. FLOWERS.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

